Our Little Artist

Did I mention Becca is artsy? To say she loves art would be a major understatement. Almost every day after school this year, Becca would come home, sit down at the dining room table and begin her next "project". She loves drawing, painting, cutting, glueing, anything that is creative.

So she was very excited when a piece of her artwork was selected to be in the Pikes Peak Regional 47th Annual Young People's Art Exhibition. Whew! That's a long name!

Her African mask was put on display for a week in April in an art gallery in the mall.

So we all went to see her work and congratulate her. She got a ribbon for the multicultural art award.

March 29th - Reese's actual b'day

We had her wait to open presents from us until her real birthday, so here she is blowing out the candles on her b'day pancakes and with some of her presents.

Reese turned 2!

We had a little party for Reese on March 28th, the day before her birthday. As I mentioned in a previous post, she loves the Wonder Pets. Here's her getting her first look at her cake (she was really excited!)

Here she is with her matching big sister - Becca insisted they match!

I liked this one of her and cousin Harris - she looks very sassy!

Coloring with sidewalk chalk with her Dad.

Tris and Cam having fun in the bouncy house.

With friends Ashley and Katie

Before...and after

We got our house painted this year! It was very exciting/ nerve-wracking. We asked many friends and family members opinions on colors - that is a BIG decision! It's not like we can just pay to have it painted all over again if we don't like it! So here is the BEFORE picture...

And here is the AFTER picture. . .

We really like it! What do you think?

It's a Jungle Out There!

That was the name of Becca's 1st grade musical this year. As you can see, she was a cheetah. she had quite a few speaking parts and a solo in one of the musical numbers. She really has a flair for the dramatic arts, well any art really. We were really proud of her. She did a great job!

Here she is with some more of her jungle friends.

And posing with her Mom, Dad, Grammy, and aunts

Yikes!

Okay, I have learned a very important lesson about my hair recently. Apparently the color on the box of hair dye for a couple dollars at Wal-mart does not necessarily turn out the same on my hair! And it does not necessarily end up saving me money either. My hair turned this lovely shade of golden-orange, and cost me 2 trips to a professional hair dresser to get most of it toned out of my hair (I'm still not 100% happy with the color it is now.) And this picture was taken indoors in not-so-great lighting. Just imagine what I looked like in the sunlight! Needless to say, I have learned my lesson!

Batboy and Batgirl

This picture was just too cute to pass up. Cameron went through quite a lengthy phase of dressing up like Batman. We very often were spotted out in public with these or similar costumes on. Reese thinks dressing up means putting on super-hero costumes at this point. She doesn't have any need for the large drawer of girly dress-up clothes we have saved back from Becca's dress-up days for her!

Surprise!

The party continues - I also threw a surprise party for Tristan the weekend of his b'day. We had a bunch of friends and family meet us at the movies, where we saw Paul Blart - Mall Cop, then came back home for food and cake. Look how surprised he's pretending to be - what a nice husband I have!

The Big 3-0!

Here's the birthday boy having a very fancy birthday breakfast - donuts and juice! Cameron and Trister did not mind the donuts one bit!


Neither did Reese and Becca for that matter. (I really do live with these people, by the way. Apparently I'm always the one behind the camera, because I'm never in any pictures. I'll have to work on that.)

Here's one with me in it! Tyler and Amanda treated us to a Denver Nuggets game for Trisatn's birthday. It turned out to be a great game. All I remember is that we won - Tristan could probably give you more details, but hey, I'm a girl!

Tristan is officially 30! I teased him mercilessly about this fact, but he handled it really well. I think it's because he really should be proud of himself and all he has accomplished already in his life before this milestone. He has served a faithful 2 year mission for the Lord, been married in the temple to a wonderful woman =), earned a bachelor's degree while working full-time to support his family, gotten his C.P.A., has 4 beautiful children, and recently landed his dream job at Colorado Springs Utilities. He is a wonderful husband, father, and friend. I don't think there is much left undone in his 20's for him to be sad about. Tris, you are the best, and I love you! Happy 30th!!

Christmas morning

Here are a few shots of the kids on Christmas morning with their new presents.

stay tuned!

Okay, it is WAY past my bedtime, so I will resume playing catch-up with our blog tomorrow. Whew!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...

We spent Christmas Eve at my Mom's and had a lot a fun - we had a game night, and Mom let the kids open presents before we went home.

Here's my sister Torey and Luke, and brother Ryan and his wife Cheron.

Sorry, Ashley - your eyes just looked really cool in this one! =)

Run, run, as fast as you can....

...you can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!

Becca turns 7

Becca celebrated her birthday at home with her family this year. We had cake, presents, and all the fun a girl can want!

Go Wonder Pets - YAY!!

Here's a random picture. Reese loves a show called the Wonder Pets. It's about a Guinea Pig, Duckling, and Turtle who save baby animals in every episode. This picture is dedicated to my creative, and loving big-sister of a daughter, Rebecca, who spent most of the morning that day making a "Fly-boat" for her baby sister. Becca, you are such a sweet, imaginative, loving little girl. Thank you for blessing my life by being you!

The Nativity at the Ward Christmas Party

(Becca's on the floor in the cow costume)
For those of you who don't know I'm the Primary Music leader in our ward - and I LOVE it! This has been the most fun calling! The kids are great - and I love music. So here we are at the ward Christmas Party. We sang "The Nativity Song". Tristan had a singing part and Becca was a cow.

Sorry Mom - this picture is too cute!

My Mom is NOT a fan of this picture - she's not a big fan of her grandchildren being on the roof! The kids love "helping" Daddy set up the Christmas lights, though - so what are we to do?

Christmas is Coming!

Here we are setting up the Christmas tree. Reese was not feeling the Christmas Spirit that night, as you can see.